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Google has launched its long-awaited e-bookstore, Google E-books, bringing more than 3 million books — many of them free — to any device with a web browser in the U.S.

The initiative, previously known as Google Editions, offers an alternative sales model from the dominant players in the space, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple.

Instead of purchasing e-books through a single online store to read only on compatible software (i.e. books bought from the Kindle Store can only be read on Kindle apps), Google () lets consumers buy books either from its store or any other online vendor that sells books in EPUB and PDF formats, and read them on any device with a web browser.

This allows independent booksellers with loyal customer bases to advertise and sell Google e-books via their own venues and take an (as of yet undisclosed) cut of the revenue, an opportunity previously denied to them. It also allows consumers to choose whom to purchase their books from on Google’s platform, just as consumers can choose between third-party sellers on Amazon. Google E-books is also launching with an affiliates program in place.

It’s a smart move on Google’s end, as the company will have potentially thousands of booksellers and affiliates marketing on behalf of its service.
In addition to a Google Web Reader application, users will be able to read Google e-books on apps for Android (), iPhone and iPad devices. Reading content will automatically sync across devices, so if you begin reading in the morning in the iPad, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off on your iPhone or Android device on the subway, and again on your office computer during your lunch break.

Nearly 4,000 publishers will be providing content through Google E-books at launch, including all of the major players: Random House, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, etc.